French Studies and English Literature BA (Hons)

Lancaster’s joint French Studies and English Literature degree is taught by the Department of Languages and Cultures in conjunction with the Department of English and Creative Writing. This degree includes an international placement in year 3.

Your French Studies programme enables you to acquire high-level language skills while gaining a thorough understanding of the country’s historical, cultural, social and political background in a global context. In English Literature you will study a wide range of authors, genres, historical periods, literary movements, techniques and critical approaches.

Your first year comprises an exploration of the French language and its cultural context, as well as a core module in English Literature. Alongside this, you can choose another English module such as World Literature or Creative Writing, or alternatively a minor subject from another department.

Building on your language skills in Year 2, you will study the culture, politics and history of the French-speaking world in more depth, as well as selecting modules which are international in scope and promote a comparative understanding of Europe and beyond. You will combine these with the core English module, ‘The Theory and Practice of Criticism’ and choose options such as ‘British Romanticism’, ‘Literature and Film’ and ‘American Literature to 1900’.

Spending your third year abroad in a French-speaking country makes a major contribution to your command of the language, while deepening your intercultural sensitivity. You can study at a partner institution or conduct a work placement.

In your final year, you consolidate your French language skills, and study specialist culture and comparative modules, such as ‘Mirrors across Media: Reflexivity in Literature, Film, Comics and Video Games’. You will also select English Literature modules such as the full-year ‘Shakespeare’ and ‘Contemporary Literature’ as well as choosing from a variety of specialist half-year modules.

Careers

As well as language and subject-related skills, a degree in languages develops rich interpersonal, intercultural, cognitive and transferable skills. Combined with the communication, self-expression, research and critical understanding skills gained studying English Literature, a wide range of business and public-sector roles will be open to you. Graduates go on to work in publishing, journalism, librarianship, television and the media, IT, business development, civil service, events management, finance, research and sales, as well as teaching and translating both in the UK and abroad.

Many graduates continue their studies at Lancaster, making the most of our excellent postgraduate research facilities. We offer Masters degrees in Translation, Languages and Cultures, English Literary Studies and Creative Writing, as well as a range of PhD research degrees.